Type-writer line-spacing mechanism.



No. 755,831. PATENTED MAR. 29, 1904.

J. ALEXANDER.

TYPE WRITER LINE SPAOING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. s. 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented March 29, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE ALEXANDER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ARTHUR LETTS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

TYPE-WRITER LINE-SPACINGv MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,831, dated March 2 9, 1904.

Original application filed August 2, 1902, Serial No. 118,085. Divided and this application filed February 3, 1903. Serial No. 141,671. (No model.)

T 01. whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, J ESSE ALEXANDER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type-Writer Line-Spacing Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in to type-writers, and particularly the line-spacing mechanism. Other parts of a machine with which this mechanism is adapted to be used are more fully set forth in my application, Serial No. 118,085, filed August 2, 1902, from I 5 which this is a divisional application.

The object of this invention is to provide a construction which shall be simple, efficient, and durable and which may be readily adjusted and operated for rotating a platen or paper-backing roller.

The invention consists in providing a system of pivoted plates, pins, and stops so mounted, constructed, and related to each other that the platen may be rotated as desired. A stop is provided to act in conjunction with the operating-pin, so as to limit the rotation of the platen to any number of spaces from one up to any number less than the total number of teeth on the ratchet, depending upon the me- 0 chanical limitations of the structure. These features will be more clearly seen by consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improvements 5 of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1 viewed from the left, the platen being removed and the ratchet shown dotted.

The platen 1 is mounted on the shaft 10 and provided with an ordinary operating handle or knob 11. 12 is a ratchet-wheelsecured to the platen or its shaft, so as to move with the same. Upon the shaft 10 or concentrically with the ratchet 12 is rotatably mounted the plate 14: by means of the hub 13. To this plate 14 is pivoted the operating-handle 15, which projects forward and normally in a horizontal direction.

150 is the pivotal connection between the handle 15 and the plate 14:. 5

16 is a pin carried by the handle 15 and movable therewith. Normally this pin is out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 12, but is adapted to act in conjunction therewith to rotate the ratchet. 1 1 is a stop car'- ried by a portion of the side frame 2 of the carriage. This stop acts as the forward limit of the plate 14, as shown in Fig. 2.

The plate 14: carries a pin 17, adapted to stand between the sides of a notch or recess 151 in the operating-handle 15.

When the operating-handle 15 is raised manually, it tilts about the pivot 150 until the upper portion of the recess 151 contacts with the pin 17. At this point the pin 16 will have 5 come into operative engagement with a tooth of the ratchet 12. Continued rotation of the operating-handle 15 will result in a corresponding rotation of the ratchet 12 and of the platen 1, thus spacing the line. The number 7 of spaces through which the platen is rotated will depend entirely upon the arc of .movement of the operating-handle. In order that this spacing may be adjusted to accord with a uniform number of the teeth of the ratchet or set, as desired, I have provided the stop-arm 18, which is pivoted on the platen-shaft 10 and has a projection 181, which stands in the path of the movement of the plate 14 and prevents its rotation about the shaft 10 beyond that point which is determined by its position. The stop-arm 18 is formed of spring metal, and thus held in position by its own conformation. The position of the stop-arm 18, and consequently the permissive spacing of the 8 5 mechanism, may be adjusted as desired by simply rotating the arm to its proper position.

19 is one of a series of projections carried by the part 2 of the carriageframe,.with any one of which an car 182 of the stop-arm 18' 9 may engage.

131 is a spring having one end attached to the hub 13 of the platel and the other end secured to the relatively stationary portion 2 of the carriage-frame. This spring may be adjusted to assist in returning the parts of the spacing mechanism to their normal position, as shown in Fig. 2. It is not essential, however, to the operation of the device except when the structure is such that the operatinghandle will not return of itself by gravity.

120 is the body of a brake attached to the rod 121. In the recess of the brake operates a ball 122, pressed forward into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 12 by means of aspring 123. 124: is an adjusting-screw. 125 is a set-screw. This brake may be used in conjunction with the ratchet 12 for the purpose of keeping such a pressure upon it as to hold it upon definite line positions. The pin 16, which is adapted to cooperate with the ratchet 12, is preferably flattened on one side, so as to form a satisfactory bearing against the teeth of the ratchet. This pin may be formed separately from the operating-handle 15 and secured thereto in any suitable manner.

The stop-arm 18 may be stamped of suitable material and have the projecting ears 181 and 182 formed therefrom by bending at right angles.

It will be seen since the operating-handle and the adjustable stop-arm are both pivotally mounted with respect to the platen-shaft 10 that rotation of the platen may be efiected through any number of lines, dependent only upon the proportion of the parts. The advantages of such a construction Will be obvious, since it enables the operator to set the device in such a manner as to effect the regular spacing of the paper through any distance, as desired. 7

W'hat I claim is 1. In a type-writer, a line-spacing mechanism comprising a platen and a shaft therefor, a ratchet wheel thereon, a plate pivotally mounted on said shaft, a forwardly-projecting operating-handle pivoted to said plate, a pawl carried by said handle adapted to engage the teeth of said ratchet, a pin carried by said plate, said handle resting against said pin in its normal position when the pawl is disengaged from and raised above the teeth of the ratchet.

2. In a type-writer, a line-spacing mechanism comprising a platen, and a shaft therefor, a ratchet wheel thereon, a plate pivotally mounted on said shaft, a forwardly-projecting operating-handle pivoted to said plate, a pawl carried by said handle adapted to engage the teeth of said ratchet, a pin carried by said plate, said handle resting against said pin in its normal position when the pawl is disengaged from or raised above the teeth of the ratchet, and a stop-arm pivoted on said shaft, one of the moving parts coming in contact with said stop-arm at the latter end of the backward feeding rotation of the pawl and handle.

3. A line-spacing mechanism for a typewriter including a side plate, a platen-shaft revolubly mounted therein, a ratchet-wheel movable with said shaft, a plate pivotally mounted on said shaft, an operating-handle pivotally carried by said plate, a pawl-pin carried by said handle for engagement with said ratchet, a stop-pin carried by the side plate for supporting said pivoted plate and operating-handle and a stop-pin carried by said pivoted plate for holding the operatinghandle in its normal position with the pawlpin disengaged from the ratchet.

4. A line-spacing mechanism for a typewriter including a side plate, a platen-shaft revolubly mounted therein, a ratchet-wheel movable with said shaft, a plate pivotally mounted on said shaft, an operating-handle pivotally carried by said plate, a pawl-pin carried by said handle for engagement with said ratchet, a stop-pin carried by the side plate for supporting said pivoted plate and operating-handle and a stop-pin carried by said pivoted plate for holding the operatinghandle in its normal position with the pawlpin disengaged from the ratchet, and a spring for assisting in returning the pivoted plate and operating-handle to their normal positions when released.

5. A line-spacing mechanism for a typewriter including a side plate, a platen-shaft revolubly mounted therein, a ratchet-wheel movable with said shaft, a plate pivotally mounted on said shaft, an operating-handle pivotally carried by said plate, a pawl-pin carried by said handle for engagement with said ratchet, a stop-pin carried by the side plate for supporting said pivoted plate and operating-handle and a stop-pin carried by said pivoted plate for holding the operatinghandle in its normal position with the pawlpin disengaged from the ratchet, a series of projections carried by the side plate, a stoparm pivoted on said shaft adapted to engage with any one of said projections, said stoparm standing in a position to the rear of the operating-handle to limit its feeding movement.

JESSE ALEXANDER.

Witnesses:

RoB'r. S. ALLYN, L. VREELAND. 

